A new research project is looking for ways to turn cyber data into visualizations that are easier for users to comprehend. Turning data into useful information is a longstanding challenge, as the useful information is often buried in a mountain of irrelevancy, or hidden in a subtle pattern.
The Air Force has issued a Small Business Innovation Research solicitation to find firms ready to tackle the problem.
Resource: Read the SBIR
The problem is acute. “Cyber operators, who may be new to this domain because of the high demand this need has placed on the Air Force workforce, find themselves challenged on two fronts,” the Air Force notes. “First, they must try to make sense of the vast amounts of data which are being presented to them, often in raw format. Cyber operators are drowning in data that they cannot effectively understand, manage, and use to make sound decisions. Second, they are constantly trying to learn new tools that are being offered to them, each independent from one another with unique features, rules, syntax, interfaces, interaction techniques, etc.”
The research proposal cites some possible visual solutions, including parallel coordinates, tree maps, recurrence plots, theme rivers, and other graphical techniques. Methods can also be imported from other fields, such as applying tag clouds to network data.
